davis_square | Anyone have any old photos (pre-1970) of Davis Square?

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Anyone have any old photos (pre-1970) of Davis Square?

Does anyone have any photos of Davis Square pre-1970? The Somerville Musuem is looking to borrow such photos (not for an exhibit, but for a fast approaching project they have been asked to help research.) They need the photos within the next week.

The Somerville Museum is located at One Westwood Rd, at the corner of Westwood Rd and Central St.
Tel 617-666-9810 Museum Hours: Thurs 2-7, Fri -5, Sat 12-5

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Whoever's posting all the photos to this Facebook group might be able to help. I bet James Norton and the other folks at the Somerville News also have lots of such photos. Also talk to Kristi Chase and Brandon Wilson at the Historic Preservation Commission at City Hall.

Edited 2009-03-27 14:22 (UTC)

Hey Ron, I'm sure Evelyn B at the Musuem has talked to the folks you mentioned. I told her I'd get the word out via other avenues (like DSLJ). Thanks for the tip about the facebook page, I'll pursue that.

The photos on Facebook are far too low resolution to be printed out for this purpose, but the various people who are posting them probably have 'originals' that are better.

Kirkland Cleaners (on Broadway past Teele) used to have several pictures like this hanging on the walls. Sadly, they're gone now, but maybe if you get in touch with them they can hopefully help you track down where they've gone?

I have just posted some cool ones from 1978 on my journal here. I didn't take them, I just found them on Flickr. Signage was much more interesting back then - it is so boring by comparison now, thanks to overzealous planning boards and so on.

I remember the liquor store as Bargain Spot Liquors -- was that the name after Paramount and before Downtown Wine?

Yep, I think you are correct there, Ron. That whole block from that corner to the Rosebud (and including the Rosebud and the Rosebud 'Surrey Room' in those days) was extremely sketchy! Bars, barfights, etc. I think you can find the source of some peoples paranoia about 2am licenses and so forth in the s#%t that went down in that block back in the day- it would make many people anti-bar had they lived near there at the time.

and I recall the Sligo used to be part of that bad reputation. I guess it has changed.

The Sligo, and the Blarney, and a few others. You probably wouldn't see many Tufts kids in the Sligo 20-30 years ago, that is for sure. But the whole neighborhood has changed, so I personally do not see a connection between the violence of the 60's and 70's and early 80's with the current bars - they have a much different attitude, a slew of responsible owners, and the clientele is more upscale. The incident near Diva Lounge with the gunfire earlier this year notwithstanding, things are different now.

Anyhow, the signage was WAY better looking back then. I always feel that 'storefront improvement projects' ultimately result in more generic looking storefronts and cityscapes. Both McKinnons and Sligo, for example, used to have better signage before that block was done over, in my opinion.

Where was the Blarney and what's there now?

I have mixed feelings about the signage. The old Sligo sign was sorta cool but it also signified "place you probably don't want to go". The new yuppier exterior matches the new yuppier clientele.

If you really love old signs, let's put that big neon SOMERVILLE THEATRE back on top of the Hobbs Building ;-)

Edited 2009-03-27 20:09 (UTC)

My love of old signs would be outweighed by my dislike for endless DSTF meetings if I even TRIED to put that sign back on the roof!!! Much as I would love it, though. :)

The Blarney Stone was in the Woodbridge Hotel, where Ciampa Manor is today. There are many stories about that place (this existed of course before my time as I am only in my early 30's) but the most notable I have heard involved a rather large amount of gunfire outside behind the place one night when a neighbor got tired of people pissing/making noise in the alley between his home and the bar.

There were a lot of small bars in the city... I think Jimmy DelPonte did a Somerville News column on NYE that mentions a bunch of them - more than I could possibly recall due to my age, but many I am sure my parents would recognize them. The others I remember were more like restaurants; The Venice (where Orleans is) and Frascati's (where Hollywood Express and Anna's Taqueria are) are two that I remember going to as a kid to have a Shirley Temple while adults had dinner or drinks; friends of my family owned Frascati's, which burned down and closed when I was really young.

If we ever lost MOBA at the theater (not that that would happen anytime that I could foresee), I have always thought that a museum of Davis Square history would be a good replacement - a series of photographs of each block from as many eras as possible, something like that. Maybe we could even track down an old sign or two.

Do you or Mel or Richard or anyone else know what happened to the roof sign? I mean this one, not the one you have in the lobby. Everyone I know at DSTF would love to see it again.

I remember the Venice (though I never went in), but I think Frascati's is before my time. The Woodbridge certainly is.

No, the only persons who might possibly know about that would have been Arthur or Bob Viano, and unfortunately Bob died in 1995 and Arthur died in 2002 if I recall correctly. And even they might not know, as evidence suggests it was taken down before the Viano's bought the theater from Joseph Hobbs in 1926. It would have been a pretty huge sign, but by the looks of it it was probably of simple construction - metal frame and tin/wood letters. It seemed to last at least a decade, 1914-mid 20's. It was definitely gone by 1927.

Thanks. If it was that old, it wasn't neon. I wonder then if it was even lit at night?

Yes, it was a bulb sign, like the one in the lobby. If you look at a blow-up of the classic 1914 photo of the building, it is possible to see the bulbs. Yes, I have scrutinized the photos! And yes, I am emotionally attached to my workplace. It makes vacationing difficult for any loved ones who are with me.

Nice find of those old photos!

I'm sure Evelyn has already thought of this since her museum hosted the exhibit, but for everyone else's benefit ....

Go to http://losttheatres.org/theaters.htm and click on each of
Day Street Olympia
Somerville (1914-25)
Somerville (1926-Present)

Lots of photos of not just the theatres, but the surrounding neighborhoods and businesses. E-mail david.guss@tufts.edu for more info.

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Anyone have any old photos (pre-1970) of Davis Square?

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